Early March 2012, Lauren was planning a trip to Atlanta, GA to visit various universities in pursuit of her Master's degree. She was working at Aerotek, Inc. in Raleigh, NC at the time and needed to get to Atlanta by Thursday for her university tour. She walked into her Director's office and said, "Hey, KP, I'm in a wedding in 3 weeks and I don't have enough time accrued to take off. May I work out of the Atlanta office Thursday and Friday, so I can kill two birds with one stone, please?" She flashed a nervous smile, knowing good and well she was not in a wedding, but planning her smooth escape to graduate school. Her director agreed, called his colleague, Ayman Hamid, and welcomed Lauren with open arms.
March 29, 2012 at 7:30am, Lauren opened the door to the office, better known as, "The Pit" where all recruiters sat. She stood at the door and scanned the room carefully in attempts to get herself acquainted with the space and environment. She was 23 years old, single, confident and feeling flirty...yes, feeling flirty at 7:30am. Come on, new city, new faces, new challenges, why not? She felt that if she was going to submerge in a new place not knowing anyone, she would leverage the "I'm from out of town" card and make the most of it.
As she scanned the room, one handsome face stood out and caught her eye. It was Jason. While he looked up from his desk their eyes met. She whispered to herself, "that's him", strutted over his way, tapped him on the shoulder, grabbed his face and kissed him! --Just kidding! Back to the real story: As their eyes met she whispered, "that’s him" and strutted over, ever so vibrantly, remembering what one of her closest friends stated just months before, "See, men are like dogs, they always remember a smell, so make sure you smell nice, always." Confidently, Lauren walked past Jason's desk, counted down...3...2...1...and turned around to see if her friend was right? Did she catch his attention?
Well obviously, within seconds young Jason's neck snapped around and watched Lauren walk to her seat. After locking eyes multiple times and a few smiles were exchanged, Jason decided to walk over and introduce himself. They indulged in great conversation that lead to him asking her to lunch. How could she say no to such a charming young man?
Little did they know that very lunch would change their lives forever! As Lauren spent her last day in the office and packed her belongings Jason lingered around her desk, with nervous energy. Fidgeting and swaying from side-to-side, Jason took a deep breath and placed his Blackberry in Lauren's left hand, nervously saying, "Yo, put your number in my phone." She giggled and did just that, along with adding her BBM as well.
As she went back to North Carolina, the two stayed in contact over the months, went on a date, upgraded to iPhones, Facetime and a chemistry that was undeniable. Shortly thereafter, Lauren was accepted to Graduate school and moved to Atlanta.
From there, the two continued to build their friendship which blossomed into a beautiful, romantic relationship that would last forever.
Jason planned a trip to Las Vegas, NV to enjoy time with the love of his life. Little did she know, he would ask the question to bind their worlds together forever!
The morning of May 5, 2018, Jason woke Lauren up greeting her with a smile and kiss. He told her to hurry and get dressed because he had a surprise experience for her. As the two headed to their shuttle at the Cosmopolitan, Lauren was totally clueless where they were going. She was a little nervous thinking they were going on a hike--Lauren does NOT participate in hiking. As they approached the building of their destination, Jason took her by the hand and said, "We are going on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon." Lauren shrieked, clapped her hands in rapid motion and was obviously over the moon.
They boarded the helicopter, held hands and Lauren continued to kick her feet and shriek with shear excitement! Meanwhile, Jason was smiling nervously and stated that his tummy felt unsettled. As they wisped through the Canyon, in awe of God's perfect work, Jason took Lauren's phone and typed, "I'll show you things you've never seen the 7 wonders of the world and I'll make you the 8th if you want to be my girl..." Still clueless, Lauren smiled and the couple shared a kiss--all while Lauren was shrieking.
As they landed in the middle of the beautiful Canyon, Lauren noticed Jason's unsettled behavior. He claimed, he needed to take a walk because the flight was a bit bumpy--but it totally was not. After he got himself together they began to take pictures and enjoy the scenic views of a masterpiece. While amidst posing for the camera, Jason smoothly dropped to one knee, looked Lauren in her eyes and asked, "So, you wanna hang out, like, forever" Shocked, stunned, not able to feel her legs, Lauren continued to say, "OMG, is this real? Is this real life? Are you serious?" she finally came to and accepted his proposal!
"If you stick with me, I’ll take you places."- Jason Johnson (2012) He kept his word and she never left his side.